Top-Paid CEOs Chuckle as Compensation Tops Tax Payments at Many Corporations

One-quarter of the top 100 highest paid CEOs got more than their companies shelled out to the federal government in taxes last year.

The 25 CEOs whose pay surpassed what was paid in taxes received an average of $16.7 million in compensation, according to Reuters and a report from the Institute for Policy Studies.

IPS compared "CEO pay to current U.S. taxes paid, excluding foreign and state and local taxes that may have been paid, as well as deferred taxes which can often be far larger than current taxes paid." IPS rationalized that deferred taxes may or may not be paid, and the closest approximation to what U.S. taxes were paid came from public documents.

A few examples from the study:

• General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Jeff Immelt got $15.2 million in 2010, while GE enjoyed a $3.3 billion federal refund and invested $41.8 million in lobbying;
  
  
• eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) CEO John Donahue grossed $12.4 million, while eBay was cut a $131 million check from the U.S.; and
  
  
• Boeing (NYSE: BA) paid just $13 million for federal taxes (who are their accountants!!!), but compensated CEO Jim McNerney $13.8 million in 2010. Boeing also spent $20.8 million in lobbying and campaign spending.

Multinationals like these see benefits from two factors: shifting revenue and profits to international, tax-sheltered subsidiaries, or using accelerated depreciation.

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